Instructional Task: Grade 3

Rides at Fun Park

Task

Twelve friends are at Fun Park. There are many rides at the park. The
Tilty Whirl has cars that hold two people each. The Ferris Wheel has
cars that hold four people each. The Roller Coaster has cars that hold
six people each. The Water Log has cars that hold five people each. All
cars must be filled with people before a ride starts. The friends do not
want to share a ride with anyone they do not know. Which rides can the
friends ride? Show all of your mathematical thinking.

Alternative Versions of Task

More Accessible Version

Twelve friends are at Fun Park. There are many rides at the park. The
Tilty Whirl has cars that hold two people each. The Ferris Wheel has
cars that hold four people each. The Water Log has cars that hold five
people each. All cars must be filled with people before a ride starts.
The friends do not want to share a ride with anyone they do not know.
Which rides can the friends ride? Show all of your mathematical
thinking.

More Challenging Version

Eighteen friends are at Fun Park. There are many rides at the park. The
Tilty Whirl has cars that hold two people each. The Ferris Wheel has
cars that hold four people each. The Roller Coaster has cars that hold
six people each. The Water Log has cars that hold five people each. All
cars must be filled with people before a ride starts. The friends do not
want to share a ride with anyone they do not know. Which rides can the
friends ride? Show all of your mathematical thinking.

Common Core Content Standards and Evidence

3.OA Operations and Algebraic Thinking

Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division.

3. Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems in
situations involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities,
e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown
number to represent the problem.

Exemplars Task-Specific Evidence

This task requires student to understand the meaning of division.
Students will need to partition the total (12) into fair shares and use
the factors of 12 to recognize when the total cannot be partitioned into
equal groups of five without having a remainder.

Common Core Standards of Mathematical Practice

MP.1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.MP.3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.MP.4 Model with mathematics.MP.5 Us appropriate tools strategically.MP.6 Attend to precision.

Underlying Mathematical Concepts

Factors of 12

Using multiplication/division within 100

Finding a missing factor when the product and one factor are known

Partitioning into equal shares

Repeated subtraction of equal parts

Possible Problem-Solving Strategies

Model (manipulatives)

Diagram/Key

Array

Chart

Number line

Formal Mathematical Language and Symbolic Notation

Model

Diagram/Key

Chart

Number line

Equivalent/Equal to

Equal shares

Sets/Groups

Array

Total/Sum

Amount

Most/Least

Odd/Even

Equation

Quotient

Divisor

Dividend

Product

Factor

Remainder

Per

Dozen

Possible Solutions

The 12 friends can ride the Tilty Whirl, Roller Coaster or Water Log.

More Accessible Version Solution

The 12 friends can ride the Tilty Whirl and the Ferris Wheel.

More Challenging Version Solution

The 18 friends can ride the Titly Whirl and the Roller Coaster.

Possible Connections

Below are some examples of mathematical connections. Your students may discover some that are not on this list.

12 is a dozen friends.

There are an even number of friends.

There are an even number of friends in each car except for the Water Log, which holds an odd number.

If you are a student at our school, you will have heard the term, Exemplars. Exemplars are extended tasks in which 6th graders work in cooperative groups to plan strategies and find solutions. Initially, students are presented with a particular mathematical situation and asked to brainstorm individual strategies for 'attacking' such a problem.